After an opening round at the 154th Open Championship that saw one bogey and 17 pars, Corey Conners took the lid off his birdie jar at Royal Birkdale on Friday, posting a score of three-under 67 thanks to six birdies.
While he made just a single birdie on the first nine holes, he got on a roll on the back, carding five birdies including four in a row from 14 to 17. The other back-nine birdie came on the par-3 12th when he hit his tee shot to eight inches.
“Great last seven holes, I guess,” said Conners. “Five birdies, got on a nice little run. Didn’t quite have my best stuff to start the day but was hanging in there and trying to be patient. Fortunately, started hitting some good ones and making some putts.”
As much as his putter improved from Thursday, it was his marksmanship into the greens that shined. Five of his six birdies were from inside 12 feet, with two of them inside two feet. His longest birdie putt of the day was thanks to a 25-footer he holed on the par-4 16th.
The run of four birdies from 14 to 17 saw him start by using his putter for his third shot from off the green on the par-5 14th. A brilliant stroke up the hill left him just over three feet for his first birdie.
On the par-3 15th, his tee shot landed seven feet behind the hole setting up another relatively easy birdie putt. On 16, he teed off with a five-iron and then hit a nine-iron into the green. He rolled in the putt from 25 feet away for a third consecutive birdie. The last of the quartet was on the par-5 17th where a third-shot wedge left him a foot and a half.
“Played those holes kind of how you’re supposed to play them, I guess,” summed up the Canadian.
With the strong round, Conners jumped up the leaderboard and assured himself of a tee time on the weekend. It also extended his streak of consecutive cuts made in majors to 13.
As for a weekend game plan, he knows a fast start would be beneficial. So far, the front nine is playing more than two shots easier than the back, although Conners has made the most of the later holes.
“It’s tricky,” he admitted. “You’ve got to be on from the get-go. I just think there’s some birdie opportunities at the beginning of the round, and I’ve been plus one after four holes the last few days. So, a little bit better start, maybe get one or two to start the round and get some momentum.”
Low scores were plentiful on Friday with both Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns posting rounds of 62. Those equaled the lowest scores in men’s major championship history.
The two players came at the magical score from different aspects. Herbert, who missed a three-foot putt for a 61, said he was thinking about a record round after making birdies on the first three holes. Burns wasn’t aware of his accomplishment until after the round.
“Even that whole back nine today, it was not lost on me the amount of history in major championships and the opportunity I had to obviously break the record,” he said, “but then to tie it as well is still something I’m really proud of.”
“I had no idea until they told me up there,” said Burns. “I didn’t realize that was the case. Yeah, I’m very pleased with it.”
After completing their rounds, Herbert led by two shots at eight under, while Burns was three behind.
